Of all the specialties you will hear about on the Africa Mercy, general surgeries are the least talked about, least shared at Mercy Ships fundraising events, and least featured stories from the media teams. Hernia repairs are not glamorous, no Mercy Ships photographer or writer will highlight the care and transformation of the lives of our hernia repair patients, but we, the nurses of A Ward (General surgery), know and see the life-changing difference these simple surgeries make.
I was just working last night, a typical weekend evening shift on A Ward, as charge nurse, and stopped and considered the stories of the patients we currently had recovering in our ward. A5- he’s a 4 days after his hernia surgery. He was our emergency incarcerated hernia (a hernia that begins to strangulate and loose blood flow to the tissues of the bowel- resulting in a life or death situation if not emergently repaired with surgery). This man had showed up to our admission tent Tuesday morning, perfectly fine, getting ready for his surgery the following day when he suddenly experienced significant pain and the doctors decided his hernia was strangulating and that he needed immediate surgery. What a place for his hernia to strangulate… only a few hundred feet from a hospital ship!
I was talking with the surgeons last night about this patient, and they had said that if he had been delayed even another 30 minutes, his bowel probably would have died. Amazing that, first-off, he was HERE when that hernia strangulated, and secondly, we were ready and able to give him his surgery in the nick of time! Praise be to God for how he has been answering our prayers to bring just the right patients we need to help here in Lome, Togo! A5 is doing very well now and will probably go home Monday.
Our other miracle man was A4, a man who came back to A Ward after his surgery two nights ago. The evening of his surgery, his nurse and I noted significant increase swelling in his surgical area. It was alarming enough that I paged the surgeons to come and see him. We all examined him and talked about if surgery was needed. It was decided to try and wait until the next morning to take him back to surgery. That night we prayed that the Lord would work to heal him through the night, that we wouldn’t have an emergency surgery during the wee hours of the morning. The next afternoon I came back to work, expecting to see A4 back, fresh from surgery. Instead, he was comfortably sitting up and enjoying his regular diet meal! Somehow, by a miracle I believe was from Jesus himself, his swelling had gone down by HALF; enough so, that the doctors said they didn’t think he would need any further surgical intervention! Franck, one or our day workers/ward translators, reminded me today how important prayer is to the healing of our patients.
I’m passing on this reminder to you and me as well! Let’s remember to keep praying for all the patients of the Africa Mercy, for their healing and divine intervention during their time here with us and that their physical transformation would spur on transformation in every way in their country of Togo!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Ghana Galavanting, Part 1
As so many of you have been asking me… how was Ghana?!?!
One word answer; AMAZING.
I’m guessing most of you would like a little more detail than a one-word answer, so I’ll try and paint the picture of our 4-day journey in a few postings of our great Ghana adventures!
Our journey started at 5am, 20 February, 2012 with our alarms screaming at us in the darkness to get up, finish packing and head out to the Togo/Ghana border where we were to meet up with our friend, Jon around 7am.
Sooo.. behind the scenes of this trip, I had been trying for weeks and months to plan out our trip both Stateside and from the ship. My hope was to go 1) to Bodinka (about 3 ½ hours North of Kumasi, the 2nd largest city in Ghana) to visit Nyanjah, my other World Vision sponsor child (if you remember, I visited Mattu, my World Vision Sponsor child in Sierra Leone in April, 2011), 2) go to Cape Coast- a very beautiful city on the Southwest coast of Ghana, 3) head east along the coast, back through Accra, and then back to the Lome/Ghana border to cross and get back to the ship on Thursday evening.
This may sound very straight-forward and simple to most of us western-nation people who are used to being able to google hotels, rent cars, and easily plan routes according to our research, time, and GPS devices. When you travel in West Africa, however, sites like Travel Advisor and google searching doesn’t really work. There were no websites with bus schedules, no car rental companies, no list of hotel websites to check out for this trip. I knew it would be a huge trip of Faith to see how God was going to come through for us in our traveling and planning. From finding the correct bus stations, to knowing how far everything was from one place to the other, to how much it would all cost, I knew my planning was a shot in the dark. I knew that I had planned out our time to the fullest, on a best-case-scenario situation and time-frame, dreading the fact that we would probably have to skip at least one portion of our trip if even something small went off-schedule.
Let me tell you…God was SO amazing in providing for that trip! To start off, a new friend of mine, a missionary who ran an orphanage in Northern Togo who I met when he brought one of his orphan kids to the Africa Mercy to have cleft-lip surgery, connected us with a friend of his, Stephen, who happened to be traveling back to Ghana the same day we were to start our trip. Stephen was Ghanaian, and so he knew all the bus systems, how far places were, and could haggle with the drivers for fair prices on our transportation. Oh my goodness! All of that was a HUGE blessing and answer to prayer! From the port of Lome, straight to Accra, we went all the entire way with (what felt like) our very own tour guide). Stephen not only traveled with all the way to Accra, but took us to the bus station and ensured we found the right buses, bought the right tickets, and were on our way to Kumasi before the early part of the afternoon. A HUGE answer to prayer!
Even our friend, Jon, who joined us (who many of you are probably wondering who in the world he is), was an answer to prayer. Good friends of mine at home, Kathryn and Jessi M. had mentioned to me the week before I left Minnesota, that their cousin, Jon was going to be in Togo with his dad this spring. “Nooo…. I said. Not Togo! Who goes to Togo?” At this point, only 3 of us girls were planning to go on this trip to Ghana, which made me nervous to 1) be in such a small group, and 2) not have a guy with us. In West Africa, it is not generally considered wise or safe for women to travel alone. So, after I heard this Jon fellow might be in the general vicinity of Lome around the time we would go on our trip, I decided to facebook stalk him and send him a message. Let’s’ just say the message went something like this…
“Hi Jon, you don’t know me, or any of my friends, but I am a great friend of your cousins and am wondering if you want to travel to a strange country with 3 strange girls for a 4-day trip to Ghana?”
I found out later (God, you are so funny), that he usually never opens messages from people he doesn’t know, but just happened to open my message, read a bit about our trip, and respond, within a couple days, that yes, he actually would really like to join us! We messaged back and forth a bit before our trip, and then met for dinner in Lome the week before we left, to officially meet one another. Little did we know the 4-day bonding experiences we would have traveling for 96 straight hours together. Poor man. 96 straight hours with 3 women. I will admit, though… with a 6 foot, 4 inch tall man, I felt very safe our entire trip. The explanation to all of the local Ghanaians who wondered how this lucky white man had 3 wives who all seemed to be friends was another story!
On the travel side, these guys were fantastic! We are all pretty laid-back people, ready to go with the flow in the midst of changing plans, which was fantastic for me… the “planner” of the trip! They were SUPER when things didn’t quite go according to plan.
After we got aboard our… umm… tastefully decorated bus (a.k.a. who in the WORLD picked the fabric for this interior?) we enjoyed a long bus ride from Accra to Kumasi in kingly comfort on high-backed, cushioned seats in semi-air conditioning. Top of the line style in Ghana!
We arrived in Kumasi, after riding an excruciatingly bumpy ride due to, apparently through a 2-year construction project (still very unfinished) on the road from Accra to Kumasi. The yelling of Nigerian movies lulled us to sleep as we felt the hum of the motor beneath our seats. It was actually very comfortable and timely (besides the poor quality of the road), and we met Francis, our World Vision driver, at the bus station with the help of a sweet Ghanaian woman who was traveling with her 2 small children back to Kumasi to see her husband.
We found a hotel, settled in, walked to a local restaurant and ate rice with fried chicken (yum, yum!), and walked home as dusk was settling and groups of bats circled above our heads, enjoying mosquitoes at the beginning of night. We were back in our restaurant, ready to meet the other Francis, the director of the local World Vision branch, when BOOM! All the lights went out at the hotel. We visited by flashlight, then realized their back-up generator wasn’t working. Thankfully our driver, Francis, told us to pack back up and move to a functional hotel. TIA (This Is [definitely] Africa). We slept like babies that night, and prepared for our early start to head up to Bodika with World Vision to visit Nyanjah. And… I will pause...
Stay tuned for Part 2!
One word answer; AMAZING.
I’m guessing most of you would like a little more detail than a one-word answer, so I’ll try and paint the picture of our 4-day journey in a few postings of our great Ghana adventures!
Our journey started at 5am, 20 February, 2012 with our alarms screaming at us in the darkness to get up, finish packing and head out to the Togo/Ghana border where we were to meet up with our friend, Jon around 7am.
Sooo.. behind the scenes of this trip, I had been trying for weeks and months to plan out our trip both Stateside and from the ship. My hope was to go 1) to Bodinka (about 3 ½ hours North of Kumasi, the 2nd largest city in Ghana) to visit Nyanjah, my other World Vision sponsor child (if you remember, I visited Mattu, my World Vision Sponsor child in Sierra Leone in April, 2011), 2) go to Cape Coast- a very beautiful city on the Southwest coast of Ghana, 3) head east along the coast, back through Accra, and then back to the Lome/Ghana border to cross and get back to the ship on Thursday evening.
This may sound very straight-forward and simple to most of us western-nation people who are used to being able to google hotels, rent cars, and easily plan routes according to our research, time, and GPS devices. When you travel in West Africa, however, sites like Travel Advisor and google searching doesn’t really work. There were no websites with bus schedules, no car rental companies, no list of hotel websites to check out for this trip. I knew it would be a huge trip of Faith to see how God was going to come through for us in our traveling and planning. From finding the correct bus stations, to knowing how far everything was from one place to the other, to how much it would all cost, I knew my planning was a shot in the dark. I knew that I had planned out our time to the fullest, on a best-case-scenario situation and time-frame, dreading the fact that we would probably have to skip at least one portion of our trip if even something small went off-schedule.
Let me tell you…God was SO amazing in providing for that trip! To start off, a new friend of mine, a missionary who ran an orphanage in Northern Togo who I met when he brought one of his orphan kids to the Africa Mercy to have cleft-lip surgery, connected us with a friend of his, Stephen, who happened to be traveling back to Ghana the same day we were to start our trip. Stephen was Ghanaian, and so he knew all the bus systems, how far places were, and could haggle with the drivers for fair prices on our transportation. Oh my goodness! All of that was a HUGE blessing and answer to prayer! From the port of Lome, straight to Accra, we went all the entire way with (what felt like) our very own tour guide). Stephen not only traveled with all the way to Accra, but took us to the bus station and ensured we found the right buses, bought the right tickets, and were on our way to Kumasi before the early part of the afternoon. A HUGE answer to prayer!
Even our friend, Jon, who joined us (who many of you are probably wondering who in the world he is), was an answer to prayer. Good friends of mine at home, Kathryn and Jessi M. had mentioned to me the week before I left Minnesota, that their cousin, Jon was going to be in Togo with his dad this spring. “Nooo…. I said. Not Togo! Who goes to Togo?” At this point, only 3 of us girls were planning to go on this trip to Ghana, which made me nervous to 1) be in such a small group, and 2) not have a guy with us. In West Africa, it is not generally considered wise or safe for women to travel alone. So, after I heard this Jon fellow might be in the general vicinity of Lome around the time we would go on our trip, I decided to facebook stalk him and send him a message. Let’s’ just say the message went something like this…
“Hi Jon, you don’t know me, or any of my friends, but I am a great friend of your cousins and am wondering if you want to travel to a strange country with 3 strange girls for a 4-day trip to Ghana?”
I found out later (God, you are so funny), that he usually never opens messages from people he doesn’t know, but just happened to open my message, read a bit about our trip, and respond, within a couple days, that yes, he actually would really like to join us! We messaged back and forth a bit before our trip, and then met for dinner in Lome the week before we left, to officially meet one another. Little did we know the 4-day bonding experiences we would have traveling for 96 straight hours together. Poor man. 96 straight hours with 3 women. I will admit, though… with a 6 foot, 4 inch tall man, I felt very safe our entire trip. The explanation to all of the local Ghanaians who wondered how this lucky white man had 3 wives who all seemed to be friends was another story!
On the travel side, these guys were fantastic! We are all pretty laid-back people, ready to go with the flow in the midst of changing plans, which was fantastic for me… the “planner” of the trip! They were SUPER when things didn’t quite go according to plan.
After we got aboard our… umm… tastefully decorated bus (a.k.a. who in the WORLD picked the fabric for this interior?) we enjoyed a long bus ride from Accra to Kumasi in kingly comfort on high-backed, cushioned seats in semi-air conditioning. Top of the line style in Ghana!
We arrived in Kumasi, after riding an excruciatingly bumpy ride due to, apparently through a 2-year construction project (still very unfinished) on the road from Accra to Kumasi. The yelling of Nigerian movies lulled us to sleep as we felt the hum of the motor beneath our seats. It was actually very comfortable and timely (besides the poor quality of the road), and we met Francis, our World Vision driver, at the bus station with the help of a sweet Ghanaian woman who was traveling with her 2 small children back to Kumasi to see her husband.
We found a hotel, settled in, walked to a local restaurant and ate rice with fried chicken (yum, yum!), and walked home as dusk was settling and groups of bats circled above our heads, enjoying mosquitoes at the beginning of night. We were back in our restaurant, ready to meet the other Francis, the director of the local World Vision branch, when BOOM! All the lights went out at the hotel. We visited by flashlight, then realized their back-up generator wasn’t working. Thankfully our driver, Francis, told us to pack back up and move to a functional hotel. TIA (This Is [definitely] Africa). We slept like babies that night, and prepared for our early start to head up to Bodika with World Vision to visit Nyanjah. And… I will pause...
Stay tuned for Part 2!
Friday, March 2, 2012
"...And He Will Give You the Desires of Your Heart."
Psalm 37:4
"Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Whenever I've heard this verse quoted or used in a devotional setting, it's always been regarding relationships; waiting for your "Mr. or Mrs. Right", trusting God to deliver your desire for a husband or wife. While I think this interpretation of scripture is very relevant, I think His promise to fulfill our desires is even more than that. Not only does He first of all, fill us with more of Himself as we delight in Him, but He grants us beautiful, simple gifts along the way. The way plants roses along our path, just to brighten our day, or sends us that song on the radio at just the right moment when we needed it. The breathtaking view of a sunset, or hug from a friend we haven't seen in years, I LOVE the way He loves us.
I have tears in my eyes as I write to you the testimony of how God has unashamedly, completely, and unreservedly poured out His love upon me and brought about the desires of my heart. They were desires I scarcely hoped to think could come true as I returned with Mercy Ships in 2012, yet God knew even this small desire by name. This desire included the name of a very special boy: Abel Dalome.
2010...
You can look up Abel's story on youtube (searching Mercy Ships, Abel) and see the story unfold of a boy who developed backward legs from his muscles being damaged as a young boy, and his bones outgrowing his muscles. He came onboard the Africa Mercy for orthopedic surgery in 2010 where I met him. I first met Abel in A Ward- he was in bed A5; I still remember it to this day, on bedrest due to an infection in his surgical sites. I remember seeing him in A5 looking so sad and dejected, that I promised myself that very day, that I would come and visit him and get at least one smile out of him every day. So, our friendship began.
I soon got to know him and his gentle and caring father, who stayed by his side every moment. After Abel's infection cleared and he was allowed to walk with bilateral casts and crutches, he and his father moved from A Ward to the Hospitality Center (now called the Hope Center) where they stayed between each of Abel's surgeries. I visited him and his father often, and we had more djembe/dancing parties, cast-coloring parties, and good old tickling and laughter parties than I can count. The love that grew in my heart for that boy was more than I could have thought possible. Indeed, when it was time for me to leave in May and come back home to Minnesota, it was only days before another of Abel's surgeries. Tears streamed down my face as I said goodbye to the father and son who I didn't know if I would ever see again. "I pray to Jesus that I will be able to see you again someday, but if not, then in heaven" I told him.
2012...
When I arrived into the Lome' Airport this year in 2012, the one patient my heart wished I could see more than any other one was Abel. I knew my chances of finding him and visiting him in his home were slim as even my Togolese friends didn't know the exact area he lived. It was a LONG shot, pretty near impossible, and I knew it.
And then, I heard Abel and his father were due to come to the ship on Thursday (yesterday) for a follow-up appointment from his 2010 surgery. I was standing in the dining room around 10:30pm when my friend Laura C told me, and I literally SCREAMED and jumped up and down in the dining room with excitement! Apparently, Abel and his father were suppose to have come to the ship the Friday after I came home from Ghana, but he and his father didn't show up. I changed my work schedule to have Thursday off, and then prayed, against hope, that Abel would come Thursday.
Thursday morning came, then afternoon. Phone call after phone call tracked Abel and his father on the long journey from their home up North, to the Port of Lome! I was breathless with excitement! Impatiently, I waited outside the ship, in our patient tents, to be the first to catch sight of him. Finally, around 4:30pm, the Mercy Ships landrover came into the port filled with a smiling Abel and his father. As I waved like a giddy, excited schoolgirl, I saw the look of recognition as Abel's face lit up like a Christmas tree and I saw him point towards me and mouth the word, "ANNA!"
It was all I could to to keep my heart from bursting at that very moment! The reunion that followed was more joyful then I could have imagined. This boy, I never knew if I would see again, was now in my arms, free of casts and crutches!
Abel visited with JoAnn, our head physiotherapist and friend of both Abel and I from 2010, and then came on the ship for some follow-up X-rays. Like Abel's shadow, I followed along, thankful for every moment with my boy. I left to have dinner with an old translator friend from 2010, and then met Abel and his father at the Hope Center later that night.
It was a sweet reunion. I didn't know my heart could feel so full and overflow with SO much joy!!! Oh, the tears it brings to my eyes! My boy was here and I just knew it was, in part, a gift straight from God. The desire I had scarcely hoped to even think of, had come true.
I was overwhelmed with God's love and mercy on me... an imperfect child of His, to whom He chose to give a most precious gift. He is SO good to me, I can only speak to His glory and love!
Abel's legs are healing well, his right knee looking good, with some bone shifting in his left leg. He still cannot bend his knees, but certainly does not consider it a handicap as he continues to run and play soccer! He is now attending school which his Father is very diligent he attend, and is speaking French with a voice that is beginning to change like many 13 year old boys. He still has one of the most beautiful smiles that will light up an entire room, and a kind heart. His Father asked for continual prayer for him as he looks ahead to his future.
This evening, I visited him one last time at the Hope Center and we got to play a little soccer and then have a worship service together singing many Togolese worship (gospel) songs. My last few moments with Abel and his father I will never forget. I held out my hand to the 13 year old boy, who sheepishly returned the offer with a light, fingertip hold. We slowly walked together to the Mercy Ships landrover in the cool of the night, the half-moon a hazy glow above us through the clouds in the sky. I marveled at the grace and abundance of God to have given us such a gift of this reunion. I can still hardly believe it actually happened as I am now heading to bed for the night, the final goodbye wave of Abel and his papa still fresh in my mind. All I can think is, "God, how awesome you are. Thank you for the gift of fulfilling this desire that was on my heart."
"Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Whenever I've heard this verse quoted or used in a devotional setting, it's always been regarding relationships; waiting for your "Mr. or Mrs. Right", trusting God to deliver your desire for a husband or wife. While I think this interpretation of scripture is very relevant, I think His promise to fulfill our desires is even more than that. Not only does He first of all, fill us with more of Himself as we delight in Him, but He grants us beautiful, simple gifts along the way. The way plants roses along our path, just to brighten our day, or sends us that song on the radio at just the right moment when we needed it. The breathtaking view of a sunset, or hug from a friend we haven't seen in years, I LOVE the way He loves us.
I have tears in my eyes as I write to you the testimony of how God has unashamedly, completely, and unreservedly poured out His love upon me and brought about the desires of my heart. They were desires I scarcely hoped to think could come true as I returned with Mercy Ships in 2012, yet God knew even this small desire by name. This desire included the name of a very special boy: Abel Dalome.
2010...
You can look up Abel's story on youtube (searching Mercy Ships, Abel) and see the story unfold of a boy who developed backward legs from his muscles being damaged as a young boy, and his bones outgrowing his muscles. He came onboard the Africa Mercy for orthopedic surgery in 2010 where I met him. I first met Abel in A Ward- he was in bed A5; I still remember it to this day, on bedrest due to an infection in his surgical sites. I remember seeing him in A5 looking so sad and dejected, that I promised myself that very day, that I would come and visit him and get at least one smile out of him every day. So, our friendship began.
I soon got to know him and his gentle and caring father, who stayed by his side every moment. After Abel's infection cleared and he was allowed to walk with bilateral casts and crutches, he and his father moved from A Ward to the Hospitality Center (now called the Hope Center) where they stayed between each of Abel's surgeries. I visited him and his father often, and we had more djembe/dancing parties, cast-coloring parties, and good old tickling and laughter parties than I can count. The love that grew in my heart for that boy was more than I could have thought possible. Indeed, when it was time for me to leave in May and come back home to Minnesota, it was only days before another of Abel's surgeries. Tears streamed down my face as I said goodbye to the father and son who I didn't know if I would ever see again. "I pray to Jesus that I will be able to see you again someday, but if not, then in heaven" I told him.
2012...
When I arrived into the Lome' Airport this year in 2012, the one patient my heart wished I could see more than any other one was Abel. I knew my chances of finding him and visiting him in his home were slim as even my Togolese friends didn't know the exact area he lived. It was a LONG shot, pretty near impossible, and I knew it.
And then, I heard Abel and his father were due to come to the ship on Thursday (yesterday) for a follow-up appointment from his 2010 surgery. I was standing in the dining room around 10:30pm when my friend Laura C told me, and I literally SCREAMED and jumped up and down in the dining room with excitement! Apparently, Abel and his father were suppose to have come to the ship the Friday after I came home from Ghana, but he and his father didn't show up. I changed my work schedule to have Thursday off, and then prayed, against hope, that Abel would come Thursday.
Thursday morning came, then afternoon. Phone call after phone call tracked Abel and his father on the long journey from their home up North, to the Port of Lome! I was breathless with excitement! Impatiently, I waited outside the ship, in our patient tents, to be the first to catch sight of him. Finally, around 4:30pm, the Mercy Ships landrover came into the port filled with a smiling Abel and his father. As I waved like a giddy, excited schoolgirl, I saw the look of recognition as Abel's face lit up like a Christmas tree and I saw him point towards me and mouth the word, "ANNA!"
It was all I could to to keep my heart from bursting at that very moment! The reunion that followed was more joyful then I could have imagined. This boy, I never knew if I would see again, was now in my arms, free of casts and crutches!
Abel visited with JoAnn, our head physiotherapist and friend of both Abel and I from 2010, and then came on the ship for some follow-up X-rays. Like Abel's shadow, I followed along, thankful for every moment with my boy. I left to have dinner with an old translator friend from 2010, and then met Abel and his father at the Hope Center later that night.
It was a sweet reunion. I didn't know my heart could feel so full and overflow with SO much joy!!! Oh, the tears it brings to my eyes! My boy was here and I just knew it was, in part, a gift straight from God. The desire I had scarcely hoped to even think of, had come true.
I was overwhelmed with God's love and mercy on me... an imperfect child of His, to whom He chose to give a most precious gift. He is SO good to me, I can only speak to His glory and love!
Abel's legs are healing well, his right knee looking good, with some bone shifting in his left leg. He still cannot bend his knees, but certainly does not consider it a handicap as he continues to run and play soccer! He is now attending school which his Father is very diligent he attend, and is speaking French with a voice that is beginning to change like many 13 year old boys. He still has one of the most beautiful smiles that will light up an entire room, and a kind heart. His Father asked for continual prayer for him as he looks ahead to his future.
This evening, I visited him one last time at the Hope Center and we got to play a little soccer and then have a worship service together singing many Togolese worship (gospel) songs. My last few moments with Abel and his father I will never forget. I held out my hand to the 13 year old boy, who sheepishly returned the offer with a light, fingertip hold. We slowly walked together to the Mercy Ships landrover in the cool of the night, the half-moon a hazy glow above us through the clouds in the sky. I marveled at the grace and abundance of God to have given us such a gift of this reunion. I can still hardly believe it actually happened as I am now heading to bed for the night, the final goodbye wave of Abel and his papa still fresh in my mind. All I can think is, "God, how awesome you are. Thank you for the gift of fulfilling this desire that was on my heart."
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